At the Soboba Casino for the umpteenth time for Justin and Logan’s fights in King of the Cage. At one point, I was sitting with Russ Miura and Adam Lynn and we came to the realization that we have all been coming to this exact same place for fights for over a decade now. Always a good way to feel old… xP

Anyway, back to the fights. Justin was up first, fighting #2 on the card. He dominated the first round in top position outside of a moment defending a guillotine after his first takedown. The second round was more of the same until half-way through the round his opponent pushes off the cage, sweeps Justin and lands in his guard. This would only prove to be the beginning of the end as a short time after being swept, Justin sweeps his opponent back and straight to the mount. After a series of HEAVY elbows, referee Herb Dean stopped the fight, giving Justin the second round victory.

Logan was fight #5 on the card and he was making his MMA debut. After throwing a few punches in the first round that were countered clean, Logan took a bad shot that landed him in a guillotine that has him tapping moments later. It was obvious that the nerves and pressure got to him.

I’ve probably said it before, but I think it’s worth mentioning again. As much as it sucks to lose your first fight, you can’t take it too hard. It’s really the second fight that matters more. No matter how prepared you think you are, you don’t 100% know how you are going to feel in that cage. With the crowd watching, you knowing this time it’s for real, and you REALLY wanting to not lose, it can be overwhelming. It can cause you to not perform your best and to make some bad decisions. Some people naturally handle that well, some need that first experience. Either way, the second time around, you know EXACTLY what you’re getting into and what to prepare for.